Oklahoma House Passes Abortion Bill
The Oklahoma House on Tuesday passed a bill that would ban all medically unnecessary abortions in the state.
The bill passed in a 78 to 19 vote, per Just the News.
Similar to Texas’ law preventing abortions after six weeks, the Oklahoma bill uses private civil lawsuits as its enforcement mechanism. Anyone who is not a government official may bring a civil case against anyone performing or aiding an abortion or even anyone intending to assist in an abortion.
A court may award plaintiffs at least $10,000 for each abortion the defendant performed or assisted in.
The bill, which still needs to pass the state Senate before heading to the governor for signature, would take effect immediately.
It provides one exception: allowing abortions “performed to save the life of the mother.”